


the man with the evil eyes

by ofthecloudsjpeg



Series: triforce bros <3 [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Anxiety, BotW 2, Friendship, Gen, Gerudo Town, Gerudo Women Being Badass, Kara Kara Bazaar, Post-Breath of the Wild, READ THE FIRST PART! this is literally right after "what happens under the castle...", Redemption, Tags to be added, no beta no proofreading we die like men, otherwise its very confusing, unfortunately no Link & Ganon... YET!!! just you wait
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-08-19 00:42:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20200900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofthecloudsjpeg/pseuds/ofthecloudsjpeg
Summary: Zelda rolls her eyes, "I’ll respect that you don’t want to tell me who you are, but the least you can do is give me a name to call you. I can’t keep saying 'Tall Gerudo Hunk' in my head every time I talk to you."





	1. Zelda

“...with that “Hand thing” that was hurtin' your friend. Even after years of… research, I haven’t gotten to the bottom of what exactly it is. The tech in there _ was _Sheikah, but the Shiekah have little to do with this. They thought their tech would be used for good.”

The tall man gathers up the sword from the ground and begins sharpening it once more, “It’s unfortunate, how their intellect and good will were used for… not-so-good intents, but that’s life, I suppose.”

The Princess-- No, The _ Queen _, plops down on the log beside him. (She still needs to get used to the title. She never thought she would be brandishing it this early in life.) Zelda swallows and softly speaks, “That’s horrible.”

The man shifts out of the corner of her eye and clears his throat, “Yeah, it’s not great.”

Zelda contemplates. This man is speaking like he knows something. Maybe he’s experienced the same thing? 

It brings a sort of soft pain in her chest when she thinks about someone taking advantage of this man, using his skills for bad things. She doesn’t even know who he is, but still. Maybe it was his strength, his intelligence, or even his knowledge that they took from him, but it’s still fucked up.

“The Hand, you never really answered my question, did you?” she asks, moving on from her previous train of thought.

“I did,” The Gerudo man replies, “I told you that I don’t know anythin' about it. That’s answering your question as best as I could.”

Zelda sighs. She digs the palm of her hand into her eyes to get rid of some of the sleepiness in her. “Okay, fine. I guess I’ll have to figure that one out,” she mutters.

The man wisely doesn’t reply to that.

“What about the skeleton that awoke, who was that, or _what _was that?”

The man shakes his head and hums, “Not sure about that one either.”

Zelda’s frustration builds, “The Gerudo writing?”

He cocks his head a little, “I didn’t get a good look at it, but I saw some words. They don’t make a whole lotta sense all together. One said “Hylia”, another one said “Doom”, and I’m pretty sure one said “Cucco”, but I could've made that one up.”

The last line at the end makes her laugh suddenly. The bubble of frustration that was intensifying burst as she erupts into soft giggles, “I don’t know, it could be true.”

Her giggles die down as she comes to a realization that she can’t keep quiet, “I didn’t know the male Gerudo was born this century, yet.”

The man stiffens and his movements slow. He looks to Zelda, “Yeah, because… you were fighting the Calamity, right? Thank you, by the way. It couldn’t have been easy, especially for 100 years.”

She waves off his sincere gratitude with grace, “I did what I had to do for Hyrule. You know what’s funny, though?” Her gaze is far off in the distance.

The man hums, “What’s that?”

She smiles sadly, “I hardly remember it.”

She doesn’t know what she expected the Gerudo to do when she revealed her secret, but the way he nods understandingly definitely wasn’t one of the first… hundred.

She shakes her head, moving on anyway, “I’m a scientist, you know. I’ve talked to other brilliant scientists about it, and I think it’s my own mind that’s taking most of it away, so that I can live my life without…” She shakes her head again, more forcefully, “...without being insane, I suppose. Live my life without those awful memories.”

“But you remember some of it?”

Zelda nods.

“I’m sorry,” the man replies. He doesn’t seem pitying, and he does seem to believe her.

She smiles, and changing the subject she says, “What can I call you, then?”

He raises his eyebrows in confusion, “Sorry?”

Zelda rolls her eyes, “I’ll respect that you don’t want to tell me who you are, but the least you can do is give me a name to call you. I can’t keep saying “Tall Gerudo Hunk” in my head every time I talk to you.”

He throws his head back, laughing defiantly. His shoulders shake, and the jewelry encompassing his body rattles.

This is the first time Zelda’s seen him laugh.

It’s gorgeous. 

As his laughs die down, his demeanor turns from semi-relaxed and happy to defensive and stiff, like the question finally hit him.

Zelda lets him think for a while. She understands the weight of a name, of a decision like this. She’s never had to be in a situation that requires a new name or a new face, but she thinks she understands, nonetheless.

It takes a few minutes before she hears him sigh. She opens her eyes to find his body being faced towards her instead of the fire, and his eyes terrified.

She doesn’t know what’s happening at it’s frightening.

“I want to help you. With this task, with this person who has corrupted your friend, but in doing so, I have to be… honest and upfront towards you, do you agree?”

She nods, hesitant. “If you’re going to be helping me, then yes, I agree.”

“I want to tell you everythin', because I haven’t been as honest as I probably should have been. But I need to know that you’ll listen. Can you promise me that you’ll listen, first?” The man looks incredibly nervous, and it’s unnerving Zelda quite a bit.

Her heart beats fast in her chest, “I-I promise. I’ll listen. What do you think I’ll do?”

His eyes go sad, “Everything.”

She doesn’t know what that means, so she keeps silent, waiting for him to start speaking.

The Gerudo man sighs deeply. She thinks he’s concentrating on what he’s going to say, as well as mustering up the courage to say it.

She understands. She lets him take his time once more.

Pretty soon, he starts softly speaking.

“A few years ago, maybe even more, I was the Chief of the Gerudo. It was what I was born to be, and it was what I was going to die being. I loved every minute of it. I loved my people, I loved helpin' them. Everyday was a treasure and a blessing, until I was taken captive by some Anti-Gerudo men. They took me as a prisoner for weeks, in hopes to weaken the Gerudo, but my people were strong, stronger than they expected.” His voice is proud. 

Zelda was already feeling nauseous. Her mind races to connect the dots, but she doesn’t, yet. She promised that she would listen, so that’s what she’ll do.

She just doesn’t know if she’s ready for any more of this story.

The Chief continues, “Because my people were _strong_, and _unbreakable_, there was no way these people could steal, hurt, or take over the Gerudo Tribe without a considerable fight. I thought they’d let me go, then. Instead, they handed me over to a... group. To this day, I still don’t know what they were called, but in current times, it has or had deep connections to the Yiga Clan or are the Yiga Clan.”

Zelda interrupted, “Sorry, when was this? The history I’ve learned about Hyrule went back only hundreds of years, and there hasn’t been a male Gerudo Chief in all that time.”

The man just looks at his hands.

“Oh,” she says softly as realization hits her.

“It’ll all make sense after, I swear,” he hurries to tell her.

He waits for her nod to go on, and then he starts again.

“They… made me do things. Lots of things I didn’t wanna do. And that Hand thing is part of it, too. Over the past however many years, I’ve hurt people. And… killed people and destroyed so many lives. You see, I have this-- this sort of power. They manipulated me, tortured me, and used me for it,” he says, words full of spite and malice. His hands turn white from where he’s gripping the handle of the sword. 

He takes a moment to calm, and then continues with an air of desperation, “I can never, _ ever _ go back and do things differently. You _ have _ to know that, Princess Zelda, I wish I could, I’d do _ anything _to do so, but I can’t and I’m so, so sorry.”

During this, Zelda stiffens terribly where she’s sitting. The apology… it seems so dearly personal that she can’t help but to think of what he would apologize for. Her breathing quickens as her mind comes up with hundreds of things he’s talking about, but only one sticks out the most. 

But that can’t be…

But he’s…

Evil.

Her mind goes from place to place as the Man with the Evil Eyes stares at her in remorse, but she can’t hold her curiosity (and fear) in any longer.

Zelda swallows, eyes full of terror, “Tell me your name.”

The Gerudo man takes one last deep breath, and all the while, still maintains eye contact with Zelda, like she’ll disappear or break her promise if his eyes stray somewhere else. 

“My name is Ganondorf, past Chief of the Gerudo, and for thousands of years, I have had the Power of the Triforce that was gifted to me exploited to do horrible, evil things. I am not the Ganondorf that you have met and seen all these years, I am not evil, and I truly do want to help you save Link.”

Zelda is slowly moving away from Ganondorf just to put some space in between them. She didn’t realize how close she was sitting until she knew who he was.

He keeps going anyways, but with his eyes directed towards the rock that was sharpening his sword instead of Zelda (thank Hylia), “I understand that it may take time for you to… decide on what to do, but I sincerely hope and pray that you believe me.”

It seems like he’s done, but he continues for one last time, “I want to make this right. Even though that may not have been me, my decisions, or my actions, I find myself wanting to apologize and pay for what I’ve done.”

  
  
He finally ends his speech.

Not for the first time today, she ends up speechless, and not in a good way.

“I-...I don’t know what to say…” she ends up replying. 

He nods and stands up, “I’ll be gone for a few hours, then. I’ll be back with breakfast, and maybe a new set of clothes.” He tries for a weak joke, but fails. 

Ganondorf clears his throat awkwardly and gathers his things, “See you soon, Princess. And… I’m sorry.” 

He leaves.

And Zelda’s still sitting there, eyes and body still faced towards where Ganon was sitting, trying to process everything.

She knows that she’s basically a “reincarnated” version of herself. She wouldn’t have known if she didn’t bear the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand, but she does. Hylia blessed her with this curse of knowledge. She isn’t sure if Link knows, but she’s been plagued with memories and nightmares of previous lives where Ganon was still destroying Hyrule in attempts to gain the other pieces of the Triforce, making him unstoppable.

But she guesses that wasn’t Ganon in the first place.

But how can she believe him? He’s lied to her before, he can do it again.

Maybe… maybe she can test him. See if he’s truly the man he says he is. She’ll have to think about what to do, though…

But if he _ is _who he says he is… 

Literally _ thousands _of years of misery and fighting in a war that didn’t need to happen has been ingrained in her since she was a girl. The name “Ganondorf” still spreads a bitter chill down her spine and a crawling feeling in her stomach. When she first looked into his eyes, a voice in her head that sounded strangely like a little girl told her, “That’s the Man with the Evil Eyes!” 

It was her once, she remembers.

And his eyes _ were _evil, then. 

They’re just tired now.

And maybe a regretful.

And kind.

  
And playful.

Oh Hylia, this is going to be hard isn’t it? Thousands of years of conditioning can’t change overnight, but it already seems to be happening. His eyes aren’t full of malice like all those years before. His laugh wasn’t menacing, it wasn’t mocking. It was full of life and joy.

This man isn’t the Ganondorf that she’s known all these years.

She can’t program her brain into not shivering when she hears his name, or when he gets angry, or even when he uses the Power of the Triforce, but she likes to think she’ll get there eventually.

+

Oh, and Link. She wonders what he’ll do when he meets Ganondorf for the first time.

Link.

_ Hylia protect him. Hylia protect Link. Hylia help us help him. Calling on all the Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore to help us, to help Link, the wielder of the Triforce of Courage. Farore, please help protect and save Link, your chosen hero. Oh Hylia, please. _

After her impromptu prayer, she finally notices her surroundings. She’s in the desert, more likely a little south of the Kara Kara Bazaar. They’re at a small campsite, with barrels and metal tins scattered all over the place. The sun’s peeks over the horizon, creating a beautiful orange-yellow color for the sky. 

It’s quite the scene.

She looks around for her things, and surprisingly finds them next to where she was originally sleeping.

She grabs her research journal and starts writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -please help me create a new series title im so fucking stupid  
-should i let them cuss.............. lmk  
-ON JAH Y'ALL IM SO DUMB...... idk how they're in the desert when they were literally just in Hyrule Castle..... please.. for my sake and sanity..... just fucking go with it <33  
-i wanted the prayer part to be abrupt and unplanned bc that's how prayer usually goes w/ me, and i think w/ someone as experienced with practiced and organized religion like zelda. if anyone has any problems w/ that lmk  
-i hope you all enjoyed!!!! this is really fun i'm having a good time :-)


	2. Ganon

Ganon wasn’t sure how things would turn out, to be honest. 

When he woke up from his… sleep, he was confused, but pleasantly surprised and delighted that he was no longer a prisoner.

That was washed away as soon as he heard Princess Zelda screaming in pure agony.

He knew the thing, the people who kept him prisoner all these years had to do with it, and he was angry. The fact that he was tortured and hurt all these years didn’t mean they got to do it to others.

He grabbed the person who the hand was possessing and threw them off of her.

When they landed on the other side of the room, and he saw who it was, his stomach dropped and his hands shook.

It was Link, the wielder of the Triforce of Courage. 

But the Hand that was holding him down all these years, and before that, manipulated him into doing unspeakable things, was now a part of him. Was now... possessing him.

Link was the one who was corrupted now.

How ironic.

There’s no time to think about it now, not with the Princess passed out behind him and Corrupted Link in front of him about to pounce onto the both of them.

Ganon gets himself in a position to defend both him and Zelda, and out of the corner of his eye, sees the Triforce on his hand glowing a bright yellow.

He smirks. This is going to be so delicious…

  
+

As Ganon looks back, Corrupted Link never was defeated, he fled as soon as the Triforce on Ganon’s hand brightened.

Wuss.

He got Zelda and her things, but unfortunately had to leave the elephant there for a few days at least. Ganon had made sure to get him plenty of food to get him through. When he found the campsite, it was infested with Lizalfos, electric and regular. He got rid of them quickly, but it was strange to use the Power of the Triforce on something so trivial.

So, after he settled Zelda in, he got (stole) a Gerudo sword and shield from an unsuspecting Hylian man who was just _wishing _he could get into Gerudo Town.

Ha, as if.

Ganon could probably push his luck and try to get into Gerudo Town himself, as he was a Gerudo, but the chances are unlikely. The tribe-- or town, he figures-- only lets in women as of right now, and that rule _might_ extend to Gerudo men, too. He’s not even sure if the Gerudo male of the century has been born, yet.

Knowing his people, he’d rather not take those chances.

Still, it was hard trying to blend in and not be noticed as a Gerudo. He had to borrow Princess Zelda’s cloak, and it was _ ridiculously _small, but it would have to do. Thankfully, it was nighttime, so the dark would help him.

As he walks through the Kara Kara Bazaar, he notices the people. The Gerudo woman under the tapestry in front of the inn/store was beautiful, as were the clerks along the riverside, but so vastly different from what he remembers all those years ago.

(But so familiar at the same time…)

That’s to be expected though, he thinks. Nothing’s going to be the same here on out, and he has to familiarize himself on all of the changes.

Not a lot has changed technology-wise (in daily life), for which he’s grateful for, but a lot has changed culturally. 

The thing he’s most excited about are the weaponry. They’re so different from when Ganon was chief, he’s excited to try them out. Sure, he could use his Power of the Triforce, but what fun would that be? Fighting in hand-to-hand combat is always more honorable than using something the other opponent doesn’t have.

As he walks back to where the campsite is, a stern voice from behind him calls out to him, “Hey, you!” 

He only turns around halfway, only to see who the person is, but them unable to see who he is. He’s surprised to see the woman who was sleeping under the tarp to be the one who’s talking to him. He gives her a gruff, “What?” 

More of a statement than a question.

She rolls her eyes, “I’m not going to snitch on you for taking that guys sword and shield, because honestly? He’s kind of a douchebag, but if you’re going to do it again, try not to do it in the line of sight of Gerudo women. We’ll kick your ass if you’re stealing from the wrong person.”

He snorts at the douchebag comment, but goes quiet at the Gerudo women one. 

He’s silent for a few seconds before replying with a simple, “I know,” and walking away.

It may have been rude, but it’s the truth. He knows what Gerudo women are capable of. He grew up with six sisters of his own, and a mother, and literally _ everyone _in his life were women. He’s lucky to have such influential people in his life, and every minute he realizes that he can never see or speak to them again strikes a pain in his heart like he’s never felt before. It gets harder to breathe, but soon after realizes he has a purpose and a reason that he’s still alive.

He’ll get through it.

With or without his family.

That statement hurts more than he’d care to admit.

Oh Hylia, they probably thought he was the one hurting, torturing, and destroying Hyrule all of those years. They probably thought he abandoned them because he was so power hungry and filled with greed that he didn’t need his family anymore-- Oh Hylia…

The thought abruptly brings him to his knees as he’s making his way towards the campsite once more. His shoulders shake as his chin hits hits chest.

His mother probably thought he was a _ monster. _ His sisters, his teachers, his soldiers... 

He doesn’t get back up for a while.

+

When he finally gets back to the campsite, the moon is finally setting and soon it’ll be morning.

He’ll have to get breakfast.

But first, wait for the Princess to wake up.

He grabs his new sword and a rock, and gets to sharpening his blade.

+

After he reveals himself to be the same (but not the same) Ganondorf to the Princess, he’s not sure how he feels. 

He left both to give them time to think about things and for him to get breakfast for them, because apparently, he’s nothing if not a good host, even if the Princess does try to kill him when he gets back.

He sells a couple of dull weapons from the Lizalfos he defeated for a couple of rupees, and buys them a few Voltfruits (in case they run into any Electric Lizalfos), two Hydromelons (for Zelda’s heat resistance), and a Hearty Durian they can split.

No one notices him, even with the sun barely up. He even keeps an eye on the woman under the tarp, but she no longer pays him any attention.

When he gets back, he sees the Princess wide awake and furiously writing in her notebook.

Oh Hylia, give him strength for this conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -if you noticed it, then yes!!! the “This is going to be so delicious…” line is inspired by Urbosa’s cutscene after you take back Vah Naboris!! (it’s a little different tho) since i imagine that Urbosa’s likely a descendant of Ganon, I’d like to think they would have some of the same personality, such as their fury/revenge thing!  
-^^it's mostly bc i love urbosa but what's new  
-i LOVED writing this so much!!! i let the Gerudo woman curse bc i really wanted her to lol  
-thanks for reading!!! i hope you enjoyed this one! there's one more chapter where they finally talk it out and communicate yay!


	3. Zelda and Ganon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s no use in delaying the inevitable, Ganon thinks, and he walks in the campsite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honest to God thought I posted this ages ago... sorry to anyone who was interested in this series! i'm still interested in doing it, but school just started, so i'm a bit preoccupied. hope you enjoy! <33

Ganon was bracing himself the second his eyes set on the camp. He saw the Princess-- Queen, sitting there bending over her research journal, a writing utensil in her hand, furiously writing away. She looks determined, frustrated, and to be honest, a little scared at what she was writing.

Ganon can relate.

There’s no use in delaying the inevitable, and his Vaba taught him better than to not face his problems head-on, so he saunters in there with his head held high, and his loud voice ringing out, “Your Majesty! Your humble servant has brought you only the finest of breakfasts, just for you.” 

She jumps at his boisterous greeting, and only stares at him as he walks to the open fire. He regrets his brash entrance and in apology and camaraderie, turns his back to her, allowing her to attack him without his defense if she felt the need. He doesn’t think she will, but she _has_ taken down the embodiment of the Triforce of Power multiple times before, so… He’s a big enough Gerudo to admit that he’s a little bit terrified of the small woman.

Zelda understands the greeting and Ganon’s body language as soon as she sees it. He doesn't mean to be brash and loud, he just wants to seem unassuming so she could feel more at peace around him. He and Link are similar in that way: using their actions to speak louder than their words. 

_They’d be good friends_, she thinks.

As he rambles on about how Hearty Durian is a delicacy from where he’s from, and that she should be lucky he even had enough money for it, she stands up and walks towards him. She makes sure that he can see her from her peripheral vision, giving him the same camaraderie that he gifted her, and sits down by the fire. 

She’s absolutely _terrified_, but she has to do this.

Ganon sees her sit by the fire in his peripheral vision as he’s chopping up Hearty Durian and rambles on about the fruit. His mother would’ve slapped him upside the head if she ever saw him treat a Vai like this, but he has no control over his mouth at the moment. But overall, he needs to say something to the Queen before she says anything, other than what region Hearty Durian thrives in.

He’s absolutely _terrified_, but he has to do this.

He goes silent at the same time as his hands do. The fruit is now simmering in the pot, and with nothing for him left to say, he blabbers, “Princess, I-”

But at the same time, the Queen starts, as well, “You see--”

They stop.

Ganon is the first one to speak this time. With a blush high on his cheeks he bows his head slightly, “Please, Your Majesty.”

Zelda nods her head in thanks, and all she says is, “I understand.”

The man looks at her in disbelief, “I-- You… you what?”

“I understand,” is patiently repeated.

It feels as if a weight is taken off of his shoulders, one that’s been there for seemingly centuries, and he can finally breathe. 

“You understand? Y-- you have no idea how much that means to me, Princess... but in all honesty? I gotta ask, why?” He hurries to explain himself, “Not that I’m complaining or anything! I just… this body, this Power… it has hurt you in the past many, many times… How do you know it won’t do so again?”

Ganon hopes to Hylia that he’s not overstepping his boundaries, but knowing himself, he’s already way past that. He's just curious! His Vaba always said that would be the destruction of him. Maybe this is it... 

Zelda has to think for a moment. How does she explain something like this? 

After a few moments, she slowly begins, still trying to come up with the right words as she goes. “Do… you ever remember a person, or rather, a girl calling you ‘The Man with the Evil Eyes?’” 

Caught off guard, Ganon replies, “I-um... I don’t remember much about my previous lives, if that’s what you’re talking about… and no one has ever said that about me in this one. I think it’s a lot like how you don’t remember much about fighting the Calamity in the Castle. Your mind is saving you from reliving the most painful memories. I have a lot of memories that need to be shut away, I suppose.”

She nods, assuming that he doesn't remember, but he gets a faraway look as soon as she gets ready to start speaking again.

“Actually… that _is_ very familiar… ‘The Man with the Evil Eyes…’ I hear… a little girl saying it. And... the feeling I get when she speaks…” He shivers, unable to go on with the sentence. The picture that the voice brought with it was one he wish he hadn't seen. The hate he had in his heart then... 

Zelda doesn't fully understand what he sees, but she understands the pain of memories altogether. She speaks to get his mind off of them, “Well, as you can assume, that little girl was me. Centuries ago, your possessor fought us when we were children, just seven or eight years old. I see a scene in which I'm looking at you through a window, and Link is there beside me. I called you ‘The Man with the Evil Eyes’, because your eyes, they were so cold…, but filled with so much _ emotion._”

Ganon takes a deep breath. He doesn’t like hearing what he did, or what the thing who wore his person did as him. It makes him feel itchy, like there’s something under his skin that he needs to cut out as soon as possible. 

“But the emotion, as chilling as it sounds, was nothing but _ anger _ and _ hate_. To this day, I’ve never seen anything close to it. Right before the Calamity, I had nightmare after nightmare about those eyes and those eyes only for weeks at a time… I believe now, that it was my previous life trying to warn me, or maybe the Goddess herself trying to send a message. Whatever it may have been, I wish I had listened to it sooner.”

The Queen says the last part with a bitterness he’s never seen her wear before. She immediately reels back in her anger and speaks once more. 

“When I saw you, a voice in my head hissed at me:_ ‘It’s the Man with the Evil Eyes! Get away from him! He’ll hurt you!’ _ I ignored it, obviously, but when you revealed yourself, I began to wonder: Why _ did _ I ignore it? I’m usually confident in trusting my instincts, and my instincts were apparently _ screaming _at me to leave, to run, to never look back, but… I didn’t.

And I think I know why.”

Ganon breath stops. He's completely silent. They both are. The world around them stops.

Zelda smiles softly a second later, “I don’t see that man in you. Your eyes aren’t evil, they’re… _human_. They aren’t angry or hateful. They’re sad, and kind, and maybe a little tired,” she half-laughs and he joins her a second later, finding truth to the words. “But not evil. I ignored the voice because I could see that the man who was right in front of me was far from evil.”

The 6’11 man with bulging muscles, tattoos, and scars all over his body, tears up at Queen Zelda’s testimony. He looks down at his hands as one tear, two, three tears fall to the ground. 

He sniffs pitifully, trying to maintain some of his dignity. “You have _no_ idea how much that means to me, Your Majesty,” his voice breaks in the middle of his sentence, but he can’t break eye contact with the Queen now, not when she’s given him more than he could’ve ever thought to receive. 

Zelda is a little on edge from the emotions coming from the man, “Yes, well, it’s what I believe.” With no reply from the other man, she deems this a time to say, “I’m not comfortable with you just yet, you must understand. I know it isn’t _ you _who has tormented me and my dearest friend all these years, but you still wear the same face, speak with the same voice, and wield the same power. Please, don’t expect me to be okay.”

Ganon nods hastily and wipes his face, “Yes, yes, of course, I completely understand. And if it’ll make you feel better, you can call me Gee, or anything else you’d like. My sisters used to call me Noni. Dorrah used to call me ‘Dorf-Dorf’, but only because I hated it as a child. I’ve grown to love it as I became older, so I won’t mind if you call me that.”

Zelda giggles at the last nickname, “Thank you for understanding. I don’t think I’ll need to be that cut off from you, but I appreciate the effort. After a rough day, I suspect I’ll need to call you something else, so don’t be alarmed when that day arrives.”

Ganon agrees with a quick nod of his head. With everything seemingly out of the way, he nods to her journal, “What are you writing in there? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m gathering as much information as I can remember about that cave about that thing that possessed Link… and you I suppose…” Her eyes brighten, “Do you know anything about it?!”

Only a little surprised by the question, he regretfully replies, “No, not a lot. But I can guess why they took Link and let me go.”

Zelda’s giddy with excitement, “Oh, how wonderful! I can barely remember a thing, let alone theorize sufficiently why he was chosen. You’ll be a big help!” She grabs her journal as well as her pencil and flips through the pages.

  
Ganon can’t help but to glance at a few and gasps in shock, “Wow…!”

The Queen of Hyrule, who finally found her place in her journal, murmurs, “What?”

“That’s just… a lot of… smart stuff,” the Gerudo ends pathetically.

“Well, I’m kind of a genius, you know.”

Ganon laughs. “I wholeheartedly believe that, Queen Zelda.”

She waves her hand and bashfully looks away, “Please, we’ve known each other for millenium, call me Zelda.”

Ganondorf smiles kindly, “Zelda it is.”

They sit in silence (along with a few pencil scrapings) for a moment or two once more before Ganon suddenly jumps up, “The Hearty Durian!”

Zelda’s giggles are heard from the Kara Kara Bazaar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "vaba"=grandmother in Gerudo if you wanted to know!  
Dorrah is a canon Gerudo name in BOTW. This is one of Ganon's sisters, an older one.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! tell me some lore i fucked up in the comments <333


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